New to charcoal grilling. So I’m using the kingsford charcoal on my new Weber 22” kettle. I used the chimney starter filled it maybe half or 3/4 until the top started ashing. After I put lid the hottest the grill got was 300 I could not get it hotter. What am I doing wrong? How can I achieve that amazing steak searing that I see around this Reddit?
by Tony_Stonk1
43 Comments
Your bottom vents are all the way closed.
Find a metal lever on the bottom side of the grill and slide it so those suckers are fully open.
When you dump the charcoal, keep the lid off for 5-10 minutes. Let’s the charcoal breathe better and in turn get hotter
More air = hotter fire.
open your vents and use enough charcoal.
Put more heat in there.
More coals.
In addition to u/Happyman05 ‘s comment, also get on the lump charcoal train. Burns hotter and cleaner. Excellent for all grilling, but especially searing steaks.
Open the bottom vent. Control the temp with the top, and make delicious food.
First day grilling? Jesus, theirs a handful of briquettes, you gotta crank that up and give it some oxygen!
Open the vents on bottom. I always use a full chimney of coals for steaks and recycle them on the next cook. I am looking for blast furnace.
More air more heat
Yeah
You gotta open those bottom vents
I keep mine full open and then use the top vent to control heat
Vent at bottom, more coals and maybe a chimney starter to make sure all the coals are burning also lump burns hotter than briquettes
You are missing a shit ton of coals.
A few oberservations.
More airflow = more heat
– you can open the bottom vents and the top vent to keep coals hit, along with even cooking with thr kid off at times to get a better sear
More coals = more heat
Coals closer to the top grate = more targeted heat
-make a little mountain where the peak is where you want your grill to be the hottest
Also, lump charcoal burns hotter than briquettes. So for hot and fast cooks, I prefer to use lump.
Open vents and add more charcoal
More briquettes
That’s enough charcoal for direct heat, so I say it’s an airflow issue.
If I’m running low on hot coals and the cook is near done, I throw a slice of butter on top. The drippings will make a flare up for a quick sear.
Agree with the vent comments, but also leave the lid on right up until you want to grill. Toss on the steaks, lid goes back on. Three minutes each side at 500° is a good starter point.
I see you’re using briquettes. I mean, of course open your bottom vent as other said but you should use lump coal for steaks, burgers, and sausages because lump coal gets hotter. The trade off is that they don’t last as long but one basket will get you through.
Briquettes are better for smoking meats for hours on end such as ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, etc. They don’t get as hot, easier to maintain temps, and last longer than lump.
You have plenty of coals – open the bottom vents.
I like to put steaks on a chimney full of hot coals after bringing them to internal temp. Chimney is like torch. 😎
When you dump the full chimney starter of Kingsford in, add several big scoops of lump on top of it, spread it out, let it burn in. Open the vents all the way, no lid. Push the full chimney of coals to approx half the bottom grate. This will give you a nice, thick, hot asf coal bed with plenty of room to breathe around it.
It should sear steaks like the fires of hell itself.
If it doesn’t get hot enough like that, either you are doing something terribly wrong or you live in some super wacky elevation where fire behaves differently for you than it does for the rest of us.
In addition to the bottom vent being wide open, don’t wait for the top coals to ash over. Wait for the smoke to subside and the fire in the chimney is really hot. When you dump it those few on top will be on the bottom.
Prolly the fact that it’s charcoal
I use about twice that amount of charcoal for one.
Leave the lid off for 10 before searing, bottom vent all the way open. Extra oxygen will get it ripping. Pro tip: if you have leaf blower, aim for the coals. Will get the ripping super quick – don’t do this if it’s windy and hot, will throw some embers
You wouldn’t have this problem with a clean burning fuel like propane I tell ya what. Taste the meat, not the heat.
Or you can open the bottom vents.
Use more charcoal briquettes, open the bottom and top vents to full open. Also, if the charcoal is at least 2 layers thick or more, it will burn hotter than the blazes of hell. I like to pile the charcoal on one side like a mountain, that way I have a hot zone for searing and a cool zone for cooking it through. But always keep the bottom vents full open, and adjust top vents for temperature control.
Open vents and add charcoal.
Your charcoal isn’t hot yet. It’s still black around the edge. It should be glowing orange. Open the vents up.
open vents, and start using snake method on your coals if you aren’t gonna get a basket or a slow n sear
Open bottom vents, use more coal. Your coals will also burn hotter with the lid off, I usually leave the lid off for like 10 minutes to get the coals nice and hot.
lmao
Not enough charcoal
Might be waiting too long to dump out your coals as well
Your bottom vents need to be opened, even just a bit will bring air(oxygen and nitrogen) flowing and heat your grill significantly. This flow is fuel for your grill to burn hotter.
Breathing?
More charcoal my man! I can’t tell how big that is but it looks quite big it’s going to take a lot more fuel. Like 1.5x that at least next time. If you have vents underneath make sure they are fully open.
Enjoy!
DM me I can give you multiple pointers
Personally, I have never been very happy with the heat from Kingsford briquettes. I always use samba coco shots (charcoal briquettes made from coconut husks), it’s not too pricey and has never let me down for consistent heat.
But yea, also the bottom vent needs to be wide open if you want to grill hot. I usually only close it if the dripping fat flames are getting too out of hand, and then I open it up again 😁
Bottom vent is the accelerator, top vent is the brake.
Thats a large grill and a small amount of charcoal. Start with a base. Fill that bitch up, open the vent and get that thing rippin. Then see how much charcoal you can get away with.